Spending a Day with Kids from an Orphanage

This post is dedicated to mothers and fathers.  Stop panicking, you haven't forgotten Mothers' or Father' Day; and no, I'm not jumping the gun.  This post, more specifically, is dedicated to my mother and father.  (insert collective "aww" here.")  The definition of foreign is "strange or unfamiliar," and nothing is more opposite from foreign than your own parents.  This is not as non sequitur as it appears and here is why:

Last week, my school played host to about 20 kids from an orphanage in Pyongtaek, a city close to Seoul, for about four hours.  These four hours made me laugh, almost cry, gasp in shock and basically jolted me back to recalling a few different memories.  My interim director's church is very involved with this orphanage and a few times a year each child is matched up with a mother and her family and spends a few days with them.  This time, she decided to volunteer the services of her English-speaking employees and had us "teach" them English for free for a few hours.  This quickly turned into how much can we think of to distract them from beating each other up.  Two teachers from another branch of Elite joined us and we spent every minute of the four hours either completely overexaggerating the gestures of "head, shoulders, knees and toes" or breaking up fights or playing rock, paper, scissors.  I will elaborate on a few of the more poignant moments of this experience.

First, this brought back memories I didn't even know I had of when Annette, Sarah and Hannah came from Korea.  I was itty-bitty back then, but I do remember a bit of what it was like when they came.  Along with finding a new friend in "My-Age" (what I called Annette when she arrived), I remember the rough, aggressive and possessive tendencies.  And I saw all of the same last Tuesday.  I am guessing that these kids were between 7 and 12 and I've never seen kids more rough or scrappy.  They fought continually over the smallest things with not just loud screams, but with hits, punches, kicks and slaps.  If the Paladino kids had a tagline throughout their childhood, it was, "Hit NO! Geeeennnnntttllllee" and this is where it came from.  

Secondly, their concept of possessions is utterly redefined from ours.  We had a snack time and it was like seeing a ham hock thrown into a cage of starving rabid hyenas.  There was no sharing and a lot of "Mine! Mine! Not yours!"  Survival of the fittest appeared to be the only governing principle.

Lastly, what really struck me was a girl named Jiwoo who was 11 years old, the same age as Daniel*, the boy with whom I worked very closely during my summer in New Orleans.  Backstory: Daniel is an incredibly sharp and bright boy.  He was a resident of Boys Hope Girls Hope, the academically focused group home that I was a proud and fortunate intern/member of for one summer.  Daniel joined BHGH because a family friend recommended him for the program after he was found going door to door asking for canned food for his family.  At the time, Daniel was only 7 years old and the only hearing member of his family.  The point of me sharing this is that not just Daniel, but most kids who don't have a steady, stable and loving family environment often easily cling and attach themselves with surprising ease and eagerness to anyone who gives them attention.  Daniel was a huge part of my life that summer because during the months I was there, I was a motherly figure for him.  This young girl, Jiwoo who came to Elite last week, clung to me for the duration of the four hours like I was home base.  It was amazing that all I was doing was laughing and playing rock, paper, scissors with her and in the span of those four hours she reached out and touched my heart in such a unique way.

This, my good reader, is why this post is dedicated to my parents.  The absence of my safety net for 23 years became so real last week as I was spending time with these children who have no parents.  They behaved with no fear of punishment and as if they had no hope for a better future.  My wildest imagination could never conceive of such a mindset existing in my own head, which is a reality that I will boldly blame on my parents.  It was like someone threw a bucket of ice-cold water at my head and I realized how close I was to being in Jiwoo's place, clinging to anyone who gave me attention.  Suddenly, a reality that I have been living with for 23 years gave me a kick in the ribs, was redefined and a profoundly deep appreciation for my parents settled in.  For those of you who know me well, you know my parents are amazing people and I am who I am because of them. Thanks Mom and Dad. oh, and Happy Birthday Dad.

*Daniel is a fictitious name given to protect his identity.